The device for turning over and for transferring a glass bracket as disclosed herein was developed for the purpose of inverting and feeding a windshield to a device which applies thereto a button upon which a mirror can be installed. The mirror is installed after the windshield has been assembled in an opening of a motor vehicle.
In general, a windshield is, in its completed form, a curved piece of glass. The specific device developed and disclosed herein is one which takes a windshield from a first conveyor line in a position in which the curved portion thereof extends upwardly from the conveyor line, and thereafter transfers the windshield to a second conveyor line in a position with its curved surfaces facing downwardly. On the second conveyor line, the windshield is indexed into a device which applies a button thereto, the button providing a location at which a mirror may be secured to the windshield. In its preferred embodiment, the device also provides a means for aligning the windshield as it is moved from the first conveyor line to the second conveyor line so that the windshield is deposited on the second conveyor line in a predetermined position.
The most relevant prior art uncovered in a search of this subject matter appears to be U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,967,723 and 3,973,673. However, we feel that the subject matter of these two patents does not disclose or teach the structure specifically disclosed in this specification for the following reasons.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,723 teaches a turnover apparatus for inverting a first sheet and placing it horizontally upon a second sheet as the sheets are carried along a horizontal path. The apparatus includes lifting arms for lifting and turning over the sheets and stacking them one upon the other. The lifting arms are moved through a series of steps in order to obtain the desired inversion and stacking.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,673, there is disclosed an apparatus for inverting and stacking matched pairs of moving glass sheets, one on the other. Again, the structure contains lifting and stacking arms which are moved in a coordinated fashion in order to turn over and thereafter stack glass sheets.
The device specifically disclosed in this specification does not use coordinated lifting and stacking arms for engaging the individual sheets, as will be apparent in the discussion set forth hereinbelow.